The 7-Step Restaurant Email Marketing Guide to Getting More Loyal Customers
Published on January 21, 2025
The restaurant industry has faced its fair share of challenges recently, from post-pandemic slowdowns to rising costs driven by inflation.
Now, restaurant operators are seeking fresh strategies to boost foot traffic and stand out in an increasingly competitive market.
One powerful tool to achieve this is email marketing, which, when executed effectively, can generate restaurants $45 for every $1 spent.
Email marketing offers a cost-effective way to engage your audience, build loyalty, and keep your brand top-of-mind. This strategy allows you to nurture relationships, gather feedback, promote deals and menu items, and drive consistent foot traffic to your restaurant.
But it’s not so easy to consistently create email campaigns that stand out and motivate customers to take action.
So, I created this 7-step restaurant email marketing guide to give new or experienced email marketers practical campaign ideas, examples, and tech recommendations. So you can turn occasional diners into loyal regulars excited to return to your restaurant.
Feel free to skip to the section you’re most interested in:
- Does Email Marketing Still Work for Restaurants?
- 13 Restaurant Email Marketing Ideas (with Examples)
- How to Get Started with Launching Restaurant Email Campaigns
- FAQ About Restaurant Email Marketing
Does Email Marketing Work for Restaurants?
Email marketing is a direct communication line with your customer that’s easily personalizable, so you can make your marketing just as hospitable as your service.
Unlike paid ads, your email list is an asset you own and can market to again and again — a cost-effective way to engage diners and drive revenue.
Take these facts into consideration:
1) Your restaurant needs to turn new customers into loyal repeat customers.
- 60% of a restaurant’s revenue comes from repeat customers, who also spend 67% more than new customers.
2) People want emails from restaurants.
- 53% of diners prefer getting emails from restaurants.
- The average open rate for restaurant emails is 40% (35.6% is the average for all industries).
3) People value personalized promotions, which email marketing is perfect for.
- 80% of customers are more likely to purchase from a brand that offers personalized promotions.
13 Restaurant Email Marketing Ideas (with Examples)
I compiled 39 restaurant email examples and categorized them into 13 different ideas to help you launch your next campaign. These ideas will help you improve customer loyalty, automate upsells, and increase repeat customers.
1. A Welcome Email
Welcome emails are an automated email series introducing new subscribers to your restaurant and its offerings. They’re also one of your best opportunities for converting a first-time visitor into a regularly returning guest.
Subject line example: “Thanks for joining our table – Here’s a special welcome treat!”
Why this works: Establishes a strong first impression, building customer loyalty.
Ideas:
- Welcome subscribers with a “Thank you for signing up” discount
- Introduce the restaurant’s signature dishes or special offers
- Highlight any upcoming events or notable hours
Considerations:
- Use the recipient’s first name to feel welcoming
- Clearly explain how to redeem any included offers
- Automate the first email to send 1 hour or 1 day after sign-up
2. Happy Hour Alert
Remind customers about your happy hour deals on drinks and appetizers. This will help keep you front of mind when they’re looking for somewhere to go after work or with friends.
Subject line example: “Drinks and apps for $5”
Why this works: Drives traffic during slower business hours.
Ideas:
- Highlight drink and appetizer specials
- Create themed happy hours, such as “Taco Tuesday” or “Wine Wednesday”
Considerations:
- Send emails 2-3 hours before happy hour starts
- Use bright, fun images of drinks and appetizers
3. Request Guest Feedback
Ask your customers to share their dining experience after they visit. This type of email is best set up as a triggered automation a few hours or a day after they visit. If you offer an incentive (optional), show the coupon code at the end as a confirmation message or triggered email after a survey is completed.
Subject line example: “Loved your meal? Let us know & earn $10 credit”
Why this works: Shows that customer opinions matter and builds trust.
Ideas:
- Ask for feedback after a visit with a small reward like a discount
- Offer coupon as a small incentive for completing a survey
Considerations:
- Make the survey quick and easy to complete
- Send within 24-48 hours of a visit
- Use a warm, inviting tone that feels personal
4. Share Menu Items
Feature standout dishes, new menu items, or seasonal favorites. This is a great way to keep your customers interested and hungry for flavors they can only get from your restaurant.
Subject line example: “You have to try our new fall pasta!”
Why this works: It increases cravings and encourages reservations or takeout orders.
Ideas:
- Spotlight bestselling or limited-time items
- Send mouthwatering photos of new or old menu items
Considerations:
- Use well-lit images
- Highlight ingredients or preparation style
- Include prices or a link to the full menu
5. Seasonal Reservations
Remind and encourage customers to book a table for busy holidays or special occasions. This will help guarantee your biggest fans get a table and that your restaurant fills up.
Subject line example: “Last chance! Reserve your Valentine’s Day table”
Why this works: Fills tables during busy holiday seasons and helps with capacity planning.
Ideas:
- Use urgency by letting them know tables are filling fast
- Let them know of any specials to look forward to
Considerations:
- Include a direct link to book a table
- Mention how many reservations are left if possible
- Use seasonal visuals and festive colors
6. Gifts
Offer complimentary items or promotions, such as a free appetizer or holiday gift card. This can excite your customers and let them in on deals they wouldn’t normally have.
Subject line example: “Today get a free appetizer with any entrée purchase!”
Why this works: Builds customer goodwill and loyalty.
Ideas:
- Promote gift cards during the holiday season
- Offer gifts for customer milestones or as part of a loyalty program
Considerations:
- Explain any terms (e.g., expiration dates)
- Use gift-themed images like wrapped presents or festive decor
- Make the message feel personal, like a handwritten note
7. Seasonal Promotions
Announce limited-time menu items, drinks, or holiday specials aligned with the current season. This will allow you to boost revenue at different times of the year by capitalizing on your guests’ heightened interest.
Subject line example: “Try our new fall menu – limited time only!”
Why this works: Creates urgency and taps into seasonal excitement.
Ideas:
- Announce holiday specials or seasonal drinks
- Promote themed events like “Fall Feast” or “Sangria Summer”
Considerations:
- Match visuals and colors to the season
- Clearly state promotional dates
- Use action-driven language like “Reserve Your Table”
8. Share Your Events
Invite customers to exclusive restaurant events like themed nights, live music, or wine tastings. This can help generate interest in your restaurant while building relationships with your guests.
Subject line example: “You’re invited: Join us for a night of jazz & fine dining”
Why this works: Boosts community involvement and foot traffic.
Ideas:
- Host chef’s table dinners or wine-tasting events
- Promote themed nights, live music, or chef’s tasting menus
Considerations:
- Include time, location, and RSVP links
- Use photos or videos of previous events
- Mention if reservations or tickets are required
9. Host a Contest or Game
Invite customers to participate in contests or challenges for rewards. This can snag your guests’ attention and keep them interested in what you’ll do next.
Subject line example: “Name our new dish & win a free entrée!”
Why this works: Drives engagement and builds brand visibility.
Ideas:
- Use fun challenges or contests to keep customers engaged
- Have social media photo contests featuring meals at the restaurant
Considerations:
- State entry deadlines, eligibility, and prize details
- Include links to participate on social platforms
- Use fun, playful visuals to build hype
10. Go Behind the Scenes
Offer a glimpse into your restaurant’s inner workings, like sourcing ingredients or chef stories. This adds more depth and personality to your brand, allowing your customers to know you better and feel more at home in your restaurant.
Subject line example: “Meet the farmers behind our freshest ingredients.”
Why this works: Builds a personal connection and brand story.
Ideas:
- Show how favorite dishes are made or sourced
- Share your restaurant’s journey, chef interviews, or sourcing stories
Considerations:
- Use real, unpolished photos or videos
- Share unique, interesting stories, not just promotions
- Keep the tone warm, personal, and relatable
11. New Location Opening Near You
Announce and celebrate the launch of a new restaurant location with event details.
Subject line example: “Celebrate our grand opening with free appetizers!”
Why this works: Builds excitement and drives traffic to the new spot.
Ideas:
- Announce your new location and send it to local customers
Considerations:
- Include the full address with a clickable map
- Clearly state the opening date and hours
- Mention any grand opening promotions or events
12. Celebrate Birthdays
Send personalized emails to customers during their birthday month with special offers or freebies. This can only be accomplished if you collect birthday data upon sign-up.
Subject line example: “Happy birthday, Alex! Enjoy a free dessert on us”
Why this works: Personalizes the dining experience and increases special-occasion visits.
Ideas:
- Celebrate customers’ birthdays, anniversaries, or loyalty milestones
- Offer birthday discounts or a special meal
Considerations:
- Use the customer’s name and birthday month
- Mention offer validity (e.g., birthday month only)
- Use celebratory visuals like balloons or cakes
13. A Re-Engagement “We Miss You” Email
Re-engagement emails are targeted emails sent to past customers who haven’t visited in a while to re-establish a connection.
Subject line example: “We Miss You! Here’s 15% off your next visit”
Why this works: Encourages past customers to return by making them feel valued.
Ideas:
- Invite any guests who haven’t visited in a while with a discount code
- Showcase favorite dishes they may have ordered previously
Considerations:
- If possible, reference their past visits or favorite items
- Drive urgency with limited-time offers to drive quick action
- Keep the message warm, inviting, and nostalgic
How to Get Started with Launching Restaurant Email Campaigns
Here’s a complete guide for setting up and running an effective restaurant email campaign — starting from zero.
Choose the Right Email Marketing Platform
Choosing the right platform makes all the difference when launching any email campaign, including one for restaurants and franchises.
Restaurants usually need easy-to-use features like a:
- Drag-and-drop and HTML template builder – Drag-and-drop functionality is helpful for easy designs and non-technical users while having the option to edit the HTML code allows for using templates you already have and use.
- Pre-made restaurant templates – These give you a design starting point for every email campaign to keep marketing effortless and effective.
- Sub-account management – Manage campaigns for multiple locations from one account.
- Free stock images – Access a library of high-quality visuals to enhance your emails, without any added cost.
BigMailer is a feature-rich email marketing solution for handling large email lists and multiple locations while offering the lowest pricing for the capabilities.
While BigMailer is great for larger restaurants and chains with multiple locations, it’s not always the best fit for smaller restaurants. If you only send a few hundred emails, some other email marketing platforms designed with smaller accounts in mind may be more helpful.
If you’re looking for an email marketing platform, you can get started with BigMailer for free or schedule a demo to consult an expert.
Build Your Email List
The foundation of any email campaign is a well-built list of engaged subscribers.
The first thing you’ll want to do is set up ways for your customers to sign up for your email list. For this, you’ll at least need a landing page and signup form set up (include fields for first name, email, and birthday.
Then you’ll want to set up some easy and automatic ways to capture emails.
Here are some methods you can use:
- Offer coupons and discounts in exchange for emails
- Collect emails from online orders
- Ask customers if they want to sign up to a loyalty program that rewards guests with points, discounts, and more
- Run contests like giveaways that require email entry (you could promote this in-person or on social media)
- Offer rewards for surveys that collect emails
- Exchange emails for wifi access in your restaurant locations
Segment Your List
64% of restaurants sent personalized offers in 2024.
Not all customers are the same, so why send them all the same emails? Personalization is one of the biggest benefits of restaurant email marketing… and list segmentation is a great way to simplify personalization.
Segmentation helps you send more relevant messages, leading to higher engagement.
Here are a few ways you can segment your list:
- By location – If you have multiple restaurants, send targeted offers specific to each location.
- By order preference – Adjust promotions based on your audience’s past order history (for example, pizza lovers get pizza-related offers; guests with a sweet tooth get all your dessert promotions).
- By engagement – Send re-engagement campaigns to inactive past customers while rewarding loyal customers with special perks.
Plan Your Campaigns
Get the most out of your restaurant email marketing by creating a campaign calendar based on your restaurant’s key seasons, holidays, and events.
You can download this marketing calendar to plan out your emails and promotions in advance.
Consider the email campaign examples in our list above and choose which you want to include.
Write Your Copy
Before you design an email, you should write your copy to align your design with the message you want to send to your subscribers.
If you want your subscribers to open, read and take action on your email, your messaging should be personal, clear, and actionable.
Here are some tips for writing a compelling email:
- Personalize whenever possible – Address customers by their first name, mention their favorite items and send emails based on geolocation data when relevant (like a new store opening).
- Create irresistible subject lines – Your subject line is one of the biggest factors for getting subscribers to open your email. So make sure to focus your copy on the value your subscribers will care about. Don’t forget to send test emails to ensure your subject lines aren’t cut off on desktop or mobile.
- Create curiosity with your preview text – Preview text is shown under a subject line to give recipients a taste of what your email contains. Use preview text to give more context, or create a teaser encouraging your audience to click.
- Keep it simple – Write clear, concise messages that highlight your offer or announcement. Remember, some people only skim your emails. Don’t cram too much information in. Focus on the key message of the campaign.
- Include a clear CTA – Your email should have a clear call-to-action (order now, save 10%, reserve a table). Use action-oriented language to clarify your message and encourage your audience to act.
Design and Customize Your Templates
Your email design should reflect your restaurant’s brand and be visually appealing… while staying functional.
The easiest way to start is by using an email marketing platform with pre-made templates for restaurants that you can customize with a drag-and-drop editor.
BigMailer Restaurant Templates
Keep your design simple so that it compliments your copy instead of distracting them from it.
Include high-quality images of people, mouthwatering menu items, and your restaurant’s dining area or storefront. If you don’t have professional photos, you can supplement some images with a stock image library (available with BigMailer).
Be sure to stay on brand by using your restaurant’s colors, fonts, and logo so your subscribers know who the email is from without having to think about it for more than a second. However, for seasonal campaigns, you can use seasonal colors and themes.
Finally, ensure your template designs are responsive (not distorted and easy to view) on desktop and mobile devices by sending a test email to yourself before scheduling any campaign.
Send, Test, Track, & Optimize
Now, it’s time to schedule and automate your campaigns.
Automating your campaigns ensures your emails are delivered to your customers at the perfect time, regardless of whether you’re busy working on something else.
Once your email campaign is ready, choose a sending time that’ll deliver to your customers’ inboxes when they’re most likely to open it. You’ll want to test different times to see what gets the best engagement.
However, here are some general times to consider:
- Lunch promotions – Send emails between 9 AM and 11 AM to catch early lunch planners.
- Dinner specials – Send between 3 PM and 5 PM when customers are already thinking about their dinner plans.
- Weekend events – Send reminders on Thursday evenings or Friday mornings to help people plan their weekend.
Once you’ve sent your campaign, track your email engagement so you can optimize them in the future.
As a general rule of thumb, these are the stats you should measure and what they mean:
- Open rates tell you how much your subject lines resonate (low open rates could also indicate your emails aren’t being delivered to subscribers’ main inboxes.)
- Click-to-open rates show you the percentage of subscribers who opened your email and clicked on a link. This is useful for gauging how well your email content resonates.
- Conversion rates can measure the percentage of recipients that took your desired action, like booking reservations or ordering online. (Although, you won’t be able to track everyone who takes action since some might read your email or subject line and then visit your restaurant).
- Unsubscribe rates are the percentage of subscribers who don’t want to receive your emails.
- Spam complaint rates show you how many subscribers are fed up with your emails (could be a sign that it’s not easy enough for them to unsubscribe).
You can also A/B test different subject lines and content to see which versions get the higher engagement rates so you know which version to use for future campaigns.
FAQ About Restaurant Email Marketing
How often should a restaurant send emails?
Out of the restaurants that use email marketing, 40% email customers every few days and 22% send daily.
Quality and consistency should be your goal. You want to stay top-of-mind without overwhelming your subscribers. Aim for 1-3 emails per week when you’re just starting out. Track engagement and adjust your schedule from there.
How do I avoid spam filters?
There are a few things you can do to limit the number of emails that end up in spam folders:
- Keep your spam complaint rate below 0.1%
- Only email people who have opted-in to your list
- Always use a recognizable sender name (like your restaurant name)
- Avoid overusing spammy words like “offer” or “click here”
- Use clear formatting without too many images
- Include an easy-to-see unsubscribe link for an easy opt-out
- Keep your subject line short
Ready to Create Loyal Customers Using Your Restaurant Email Marketing?
BigMailer is here to help you connect with your customers, keep yourself in the front of their minds, and get your guests coming back again and again.
Schedule a demo today and see how BigMailer can help you keep your customers happy and your restaurant popular.
Author: Jacob Statler
